The French Revolution

The French Revolution

The French Revolution

The University of Melbourne

About this course: The French Revolution was one of the most important upheavals in world history. This course examines its origins, course and outcomes.
This course is designed for you to work through successfully on your own. However you will not be alone on this journey. Use the resources included in the course and take part in the suggested learning activities to get the most out of your learning. To successfully complete this course, it is recommended that you devote at least six hours to every module over the six weeks of the course. In that time you should watch the video lectures, reflect and respond to in-video pause points, and complete the quizzes.
As part of the required reading for this course, during each week of this course you will have free access to a chapter of Peter McPhee's textbook, The French Revolution, which is also available for purchase as an e-book.
View the MOOC promotional video here: http://tinyurl.com/gstw4vv

We begin this course with an introduction to the French Revolution. We will examine the social and institutional structures of the Old Regime. We will look at the main occupational groups and the roles of the First and Second estates (the clergy and nobility) in particular. We will also consider the relationship between Paris and the provinces in Old Regime France. Finally, you will be introduced to the Enlightenment and we will reflect on its significance and its possible revolutionary implications.

This week we look at the Revolution of 1789 and its causes. We will explore the tensions and conflicts that led to the crisis of the Old Regime. The focus will be on the Third Estate and the revolt of the bourgeoisie, the 'menu peuple' and the peasantry. We will look at the Declaration of the Rights of Man and citizen and you will be asked to reflect on its 'universal' significance.

Video: 2.5 The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the August Decrees

Video: 2.6 The October Days - the end of the Revolution?

Reading: The Revolution of 1789

Discussion Prompt: Was 1789 inevitable?

Graded: Week two quiz - 12% of final grade

WEEK 3

Week 3 - The Reconstruction of France, 1789-92

Week three of this MOOC deals with the reforms introduced in 1789-91. We look at the institutional and administrative reorganisation of France. We will then consider three critical turning points of the Revolution: the Civil Constitution of the Clergy, the King's attempted flight in 1791 and the outbreak of war in 1792. Finally we will look at the fate of the King and the ultimate failure of the monarchy. You will be asked to reflect on the immediate effects and longer-term consequences of these events.

Week four deals with the crisis of the Republic in 1792-93. We will examine the conflicts and disunity within the National Convention and consider the balance between revolutionary and counter-revolutionary forces by mid-1793. We will explore the civil war in the Vendee region of Western France and attempt to make sense of the growing revolutionary violence. We will look at the origins of the 'Terror', its institutions and its ideology, and students will be asked to reflect more broadly not he role of violence during the Revolution.

This week we look at the ideology and culture of the 'Terror' and the nature of the Jacobin and sans-culottes alliance. We will consider possible explanations for the increasing intensity of revolutionary violence and ask whether such violence was a proportionate, emergency response to the growing counter-revolutionary threat. This module also deals with the end of the 'Terror', and the overthrow of Robespierre and the ensuing 'Thermidorian reaction'. Finally we look at the 'settlement' of 1795 and ask whether the Revolution was indeed over.

Discussion Prompt: What was the nature of the ideology of the 'Terror'?

Discussion Prompt: Why were Robespierre and his associates overthrown in July 1794?

Graded: Week five quiz - 12% of final grade

WEEK 6

Week 6 - Change and continuity: How revolutionary was the Revolution?

This final week of the course offers you the opportunity to reflect broadly on the significance of the Revolution. We begin by looking at Napoleon Bonaparte and the Restoration of the monarchy in 1814-15. We then consider the ways in which the revolutionary experience affected the lives of women and slaves. We will discuss the Revolution's global implications and ask whether or not 1789 can be understood more broadly, as part of an international 'Age of Revolution'. Finally we explore the 'minimalist' and 'maximalist' approaches to the significance of the Revolution and you will be asked to reflect on the impact of the Revolution on the lives of French citizens.

Video: 6.2 The 'minimalist' approach to the signifance of the Revolution

Video: 6.3 Who is a citizen? The experience of women

Video: 6.4 Who is a citizen? The experience of slaves

Video: 6.5 The international repercussions: a global crisis?

Video: 6.6 The 'maximalist' approach: the turning-point of the modern world

Reading: The significance of the French Revolution

Discussion Prompt: How revolutionary was The French Revolution?

Video: Assignment video

Reading: Academic integrity

Reading: End of course survey

Graded: Peer assessed writing assignment - 40% of final grade

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The University of Melbourne is an internationally recognised research intensive University with a strong tradition of excellence in teaching, research, and community engagement. Established in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest University.

Ratings and Reviews

Rated 4.8 out of 5 of 199 ratings

Great course.

SG

It really gave me a new perspective on the French revolution - a subject that I have always been interested in and in the last couple of years, I have understood better thanks to my newly acquired French proficiency.